Intellectual Property (IP) is abstract and creative rights assigned to IP are not well understood. It's difficult for individuals to connect it to their everyday activities, and therefore it's pretty easy to ignore. Yet, IP and the rights that protect it are in fact real—with tangible consequences felt deeply by the myriad of people who created it and who are part of the value chain it provides.

Creative rights are a cornerstone of creative freedom. It's important that we understand and respect them at a personal level meaningful to our everyday lives—particularly in a world of digitally delivered content that is easier to access than ever before, and where that access is often misinterpreted as a license to use. Students interact with music, movies, software, images, literature, and other digital content every day. Are they aware that these works are protected, and do they understand why these issues are relevant to them?

The Curriculum

The Creative Rights Education initiative was developed to create awareness of intellectual property rights, to foster a better understanding of the rights connected with creative content, and ultimately, to instill in students a personal respect for creative rights in a way that changes their behaviors and perceptions about digitally delivered content.

This program, sponsored by Microsoft, offers a comprehensive set of cross-curricular classroom activities designed for grades 8-10 (but easily adaptable for use in grades 6-12) and organized into thematic units. The units provide a variety of ways to engage students in this learning experience and span the following subject areas: Civics, Computer Science, Debate, Economics, Fine Arts, Government, Journalism, Language Arts, Drama, and Video Production.

Read more about the curriculum units and register to download them for free.